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Weather Forecast: Cold Start Before Warm-Up

Thursday night: Clear, cold, calm with lows into the 40s. A few spots slipping into the 30s. Friday: Mostly sunny, highs in the 60s. Southeasterly wind 10-15 mph.

(Published Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017)

We welcomed back fall Thursday with highs only into the 50s for most locations with a cool breeze, especially along the coastline. Thursday night, under clear skies, temperatures will drop very quickly. Frost advisories have been posted for most of southern New England, and most of northwestern New England, excluding the immediate coastlines and far northern Maine, since they’ve already received their first frost of the season.

For southern New England, especially into western Massachusetts, this first frost is nearly right on time as we typically see the first frost between Oct. 10– Oct. 20 from the Berkshires to just outside the I-495 corridor. Boston and along the New England coastline usually experiences their first frost closer to Nov. 1 since the ocean keeps the coastline slightly warmer compared to farther inland. Overnight lows will range from upper 20s in northern Maine, to lower to mid 30s for Vermont, New Hampshire, and western to central Massachusetts, along with northern Connecticut. For a frost advisory and freeze warning, if you have plants or vegetables that are sensitive to the cold, you can cover them with a blanket or try to bring potted plants indoors to save them from the frost.

Friday morning will be a cold start, so be mindful you might need to plan some extra time to defrost your windshields before the morning commute. Plus, wear the layers, since temperatures will rebound back into the low to mid 60s by the mid-afternoon hours under plenty of sunshine. High temperatures will be slightly warmer than today, since we’ll have a southeasterly wind as opposed to a brisk, northeasterly wind.

As for the weekend, we are tracking a swift warm-up. We’ll start off mostly cloudy with a chance for some showers, but the best chance for rain will be associated with a weak cold front along the Canadian border. This front transitions to a warm front, which will bump up temperatures by the second half of the weekend. Highs on Saturday will be near 70, and by Sunday, we’re back to near 80. With this warmth, we’ll see the possibility for a few showers both weekend days, but most of the weekend will be dry, so do not cancel any of those outdoor plans just yet. Late Sunday night into early Monday, another line of showers sweep through, associated with a cold front, and that will usher in a cooler, drier airmass behind it.

After a weekend warm-up, high temperatures return to seasonable norms by Monday with highs in the lower 60s and the rest of the 10-day forecast containing highs into the upper 60s and a relatively quiet, fall weather pattern. Get the latest weather updates on the air, online, and right to your phone on the go with the NBC Boston and necn apps.